| Elections in Tennessee | |||||||||
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The Tennessee gubernatorial election of 2006 was held on November 7, 2006. The incumbent, Democrat Phil Bredesen, defeated Republican state Senator Jim Bryson to serve another term as Governor.
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Both parties held their primary elections on August 3, 2006.
Democratic Governor Bredesen easily defeated the opposition, gaining 88.6% of ballots cast. Perennial candidate John Jay Hooker (also running for the Senate nomination) gained 7.2%, Tim Sevier received 2.6% of the vote, and Walt "Combat" Ward received 1.7% of the votes cast.
The Republican primaries were only slightly more competitive. Frontrunner Jim Bryson, who filed papers to enter the race at the last minute, gained an even 50.0% of the vote. Other contenders were David M. Farmer with 15.8%; Joe Kirkpatrick at 10.7%; Mark Albertini at 9.2%; Wayne Bailey at 7.5%; Wayne Young with 3.7%; and Timothy Thomas at 3.0% of the ballots cast.
Bryson and Bredesen took part in the first of three planned debates on October 3 in Knoxville.[1] A second debate was held in Memphis on October 8, and a third on October 14 in Nashville.
Pre-election polls indicated that Bredesen would easily win reelection: an October 3 poll showed Bredesen held a 63% to 22% lead over Bryson.[2]
| 2006 gubernatorial election, Tennessee | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | Phil Bredesen (incumbent) | 1,241,606 | 68.6 | +17.9 | |
| Republican | Jim Bryson | 538,508 | 29.7 | -17.9 | |
| Jefferson Republican Party | Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker | 11,298 | 0.6 | +0.3 | |
| Independent | George Banks | 7,506 | 0.4 | n/a | |
| Independent | Charles E. Smith | 4,062 | 0.2 | n/a | |
| Green | Howard Switzer | 2,681 | 0.1 | n/a | |
| Independent | David Gatchell | 2,374 | 0.1 | n/a | |
| Independent | Marivuana Stout Leinoff | 2,105 | 0.1 | n/a | |
| Majority | 703,098 | 38.9 | |||
| Turnout | 1,810,140 | ||||
| Democratic hold | Swing | ||||
| Source | Date | Bredesen (D) | Bryson (R) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Survey USA | October 25, 2006 | 66% | 28% |
| Survey USA | October 10, 2006 | 63% | 32% |
| Accuratings | October 24, 2006 | 67% | 33% |
| The Commercial Appeal | October 3, 2006 | 63% | 22% |
| Rasmussen | October 3, 2006 | 63% | 28% |
| Rasmussen | September 7, 2006 | 58% | 31% |
| Zogby | June 13, 2006 | 58% | 22% |